Tainted Truth
by ReillianexXVi
Summary: Meeting each other wasn't a coincidence, it was fate meant to occur when the time strikes. Tsubaki (Rin) began to view everything as boring, the excitement from having her hands stained with red, gone. She was a wilting flower. Ren (Len) was hellbent and confused with his emotions, everything tuned out ever since the death of Lily. Their final meeting will decide the ending.
1. The Withering Flower

___When a flower withers, it can never bloom again._

'What is my purpose?'

 _Bang!_

'To murder?'

"No.. no, plea—!"

 _Bang!_

'To crush foolish humans?'

 _ **Crack!**_

'.. Or to be a puppet?'

The blonde girl steps back from the mass of blood pooling at the ground beneath her feet, watching as the liquid endlessly come and flow around like a stream.

Such a satisfying sight held before her eyes.

'It doesn't matter anymore'

Staring at the lifeless eyes of every single human being she had murdered this night is getting dull for some reason. It no longer held the excitement that once blossomed whenever she's sent out in the dead of night, the thrill, gone. Nothing turns new, everything turns black and white. Such a monochromatic colour. Each passing night, she can feel herself wilting away.

Perhaps it's the way she kills?

No.. that's not it. It doesn't seem like it at all.

She bends over and slides her finger across the pool of crimson, tainting her hands red with blood. Human blood. Perfectly matching the colour of her eye, it made her remember when the head of the organization she's working for slit her eye as punishment. It pained and hurt terribly, but that's what consequences are for, right? Similar to these dead bodies laying against the concrete. They are worthless puppets meant to be discarded, she believed, and every piece of wreckage should be thrown and burned.

A grin slowly lifts her lips up, a chortle escaping her lightly chapped lips as she stands up straight. Her gaze settle forward. Her eye dilated at the sight of the lumped, bloodied corpses that are basically stacked upon one another, acting as if a pyramid of corpses wherein she will stand on the top with her face held high and every inferior being are to bow to her command.

Her chortle turns to a laugh as the seconds passed by, her eye flew to a shut as she threw her head back whilst laughing out to the heavens in the dead of night. Insanity had long took control of her actions and her mind, dividing her sanity and her entire being from the void of reality. Not like she cares, anyway.

Foolish,

Foolish beings!

Yes, they deserve to die—they were born for a reason; to die by her own hands.

Nothing and no one will put a stop to it.

The gun in her clutch was also stained with blood, it's probably the weapon's trademark or something.

The moon is up at it;s highest point in the firmament, basking everything beneath it with a radiant dull glow. In perfect contrast to the small village that's now being eaten by the largest of flames done none other than her. Red, it's a very creative colour to the eye.

The blonde; Rin, who is under the name 'Tsubaki', giggles as she sets the gun to her side. The flower in her hair lost several petals, flying away from her as if to depict something. The sight of the dead bodies made her laugh in a sadistic fashion, yet in spite of this, she can't help but feel something empty in her chest. She long believed that she's only a tool, a weapon to the organization called the Crimson Camellia; incapable of feeling emotions that can only act as her weakness. It's pointless, and she doesn't need it. So why? Why does she feel so empty?

She turns on her heel and walks away with furrowed brows, her white coat in tune with the fleeting wind. Dismissing the screams of the other villagers trapped in the burning houses. Normally, she'd leave no one alive, but this case is quite different than the rest.

Something's just _wrong_ with her.

She feels.. confused, unsatisfied,

 _Empty._

This kind of situation infuriated her to her limits, thus, starting a killing spree out of nowhere and being punished later on because of her 'stupid actions' as deemed by the head of the organization of the Crimson Camellia; Miku.

'How strange..' she thinks, briefly pausing at her steps in order to glance back at the burning village. The flames tore through the sky, illuminating it with a ferocious scarlet glow. It looks utterly menacing to the eye, as if the flames are actually alive, ready to consume those who are brave enough to stumble near it.

It's strange, indeed.

Usually and normally, _he_ would show up at times like these. He would _be_ here whenever something strikes up, be it a crime or whatever. But tonight, he didn't come. That plain, simple thought clouded the blonde's mind as she resumed on walking onward. No running for the night then. No chase, no fight.. and no one to entertain.

It wasn't even a minute later when she realized what she was doing.

She furiously shakes her head with an annoyed grumble leaving her lips.

Now, why would she be thinking of him? That blonde man who she faced and fought with several times in a row, it was always them who fought. No one seemed to win. With every opportunity taken to fight and end the battle, comes with a short, confusing memory engraved into the back of her mind.

 _Ren.._

That was his name.

She overheard it when she was hiding in secrecy from them, a bluenette who's the type to tease and be serious had called him that before.

Why is he so familiar?

Why does it seem like he's so close to her yet so far away from her reach?

The assassin dives into the shadows of the trees, her feet padding against the crunched leaves beneath her as she traversed along the path to their second hideout perfectly in the heart of the forest near a city. Her heart raced as an image of a young boy appeared in her mind, it was severely blurry—and all that she can make out is his blonde hair and a pair of clear, pretty sky blue eyes. Ah, confusion, confusion, confusion!

She huffs in sheer exasperation as she pulls down her hair, effectively messing up her hairdo. The bun loosened up slightly, and there were strands sticking up everywhere due to her action. Unbeknownst to her, the crimson flower fell out from her hair and landed on the ground, some of it's petals more darker than the original colour. It was withering.

Tsubaki stumbles around, a loud of cry leaving her as images of Ren kept popping in her mind.

 _Leave, leave, leave!_

What is happening to her? She can't get a grip!

"Graah!" she yells in irritation, heavily stomping her feet on the ground. She can feel her heart swirling with what seemed to be emotions, which is rather foreign to her vocabulary. She hates it, she hates _him!_

But why?

Why is he still stuck in her mind?!

After a few more minutes of thrashing around, the female calms down whilst panting. Sweat trickled down her temple as she groans, deciding on continuing her walk to the hideout. The image still remaining fresh in her vision.

Somehow, just somehow, though.

The more she thinks of him, the more she's reminded even the slightest bit of him, her chest ached. It broke, it shattered, and it **sunk**. She can't get rid of it, she can't even prevent it from resurfacing.

Tsubaki halts and takes a step back, bends over, and picks up the camellia.

Some petals are currently worn and lightly tattered, probably due to all of the things she've done the past few nights ago. She dismisses this, and sticks it in back in her messy bun as she resumes walking with a confused, sunken heart.

The flower was withering, wilting. And so is her being, her body, and her soul -if she ever has one in the first place-.

When she sees him again, she'll bring an end to this stupid things going on. She'll be the one to end his pathetic life like she did to his girlfriend. Something like this usually isn't that much of an issue, but now, it grew into something more dangerous. Something toxic to her that will serve as her weakness.

She needs to solve this quick, even if the flower is beginning to wither away. She was wilting away, and it was because of him. Solving this matter would put an end once and for all, she'll go through extreme measures just to seal and finish this. Just like what'll happen to him in the future.

End his life, she shall.

 **Notes:**

 **Hello and welcome to my threeshot 'Tainted Truth'! As you can see, this revolves around the universe of Karakuri Burst. Two more stuff to post and then this thing is simply completed—just like that! Once again, thank you so much for reading!**


	2. The Silent Wolf

_A wolf howls in a world where there is nothingness_

"You don't look too well,"

He blocked away his hearing, not wanting the pity held before him by his own acquaintances and allies. He's pretty sure he doesn't need any sort of comfort as of the moment, if there was something he needed; it would be revelation.

"Ano.. Ren-kun?"

 _Go away.._

"Are you al.. right?"

 _Leave me_ _ **alone**_

The Lieutenant snaps his head upward, his cerulean eye dilating and glaring at the person who is currently kneeling in front of him. Immediately, his eyes softened. Ah, a friend of Lily's; Mayu. She's a soft hearted girl, he sometimes question how she got in such a place, an organization meant to destroy evil.

"Oh, sorry." He mumbles with a sigh. "I'm fine, thank you."

Mayu tips her head to the side, her seemingly innocent eyes, dull. It seemed haunting, as if she witnessed a thousand horrors and grew to embrace it and horrifyingly do the same. An unknown chill ran up and down from his spine, the girl looked intimidating. It reminded him of a presence that he used to feel whenever he gets sent on a mission.

"If this is about Lily," she speaks up in a hushed voice. Ren narrowed his eyes once more, seeing that his other companions are in the room; mainly Kaito and a few other cadets. "She would hate seeing in you such a state." Mayu states softly, standing up and leaving him be as she joined the others with a tiny smile. The blonde male stares at her form with a dumbfounded look settling in his visage.

Lily..

The moment her name entered his mind, all came flashing back to him in the speed of light. It was one of his darkest moments.

 _Flashback_

"Fufufu,"

Ren tried to calm his racing heart as he took a step forward, each action taken supervised with utmost care and caution. He was in a grave situation. One move means dead end.

 _Click_

"Hehe, don't you dare take another step." The criminal says with a smirk, pointing the muzzle of her pistol directly at Lily's forehead. The latter had tears running down from her eyes as she stared at Ren, who has a calm façade.

According from the records, this criminal's name is unknown, but said that her alias is known to be 'Tsubaki'.

Ren obeys without hesitation, not wanting the girl to die at the hands of the criminal, the killer.

"Put the gun down." He says lowly.

The first time he encountered Tsubaki was in a remote, silent village in the countryside. The villagers were already found dead the moment the team arrived at the scene, and he managed to clash with her before she was able to depart from the crime. They fought, but ended up in a tie. All she ever did was laugh brightly at him, the pupil of her crimson eye dilating as she spoke one, simple, sentence before running off.

" _Don't die, yes? Hahaha, we'll meet again soon~!"_

He followed after her, but she was gone.

Indeed, they met again—but her surprise was dreadfully horrifying. To welcome him with a soon-to-be death of his girlfriend, she truly is insane.

"Fuuu, why should I do that?"

Her voice tore him from his thoughts, bringing him back to the nightmare he's seeing before his own vision. She pressed the gun at Lily's forehead even more, a smirk rising to her lips as she laughed. Ren took out a small box from his pocket, it was white, and had a simple bright golden ribbon tied around it. She noticed this, and laughed loudly.

"That's nice of you!" she giggles. With one flick of her thumb, the bullet was ready. Gasps rang out through the small room as Lily desperately took hold of the metal bars of the cell.

"I think it'd be mooore better if you send that to the grave, as well!"

It happened too fast.

Lily reached her hand out, crying loudly as Ren's eye widened at the criminal's statements. Before he was able to take action, however..

 _Bang!_

"No!" he shouts, dropping the box in the process as he ran forward.

 _ **BANG!**_

Tsubaki giggles as she jumps to the side whilst licking the blood that splattered itself against the corners of her lips as the man darted forward towards the cell. The corpse of the girl fell to it's knees before colliding sharply with the ground, her eyes now lifeless.

The criminal runs off while laughing sadistically, more gunshots firing as she escaped.

Ren helplessly fell to the concrete, his hands shaking as the familiar colour of red began to stain his hands.

 _Flashback End_

That was such a horrible memory stuck in his mind. And he can't do anything to change it, nor the past. It was something that he has to live with through his life.

Ren stands up from the corner as he hastily moves for the door, dismissing the stares given to him by his subordinates as he left the lounge.

He heard a few days ago that a remote village was burned, and there were no survivors. He originally was supposed to be lead as the head of the team that is to go there, but he figured he'd give himself a rest. He doesn't want to encounter her, not after what she did. But now, something rekindled in him; vengeance? Or is it justice? He can't say for sure, but all he knows is that he'll end this.

There would be no more evil, the evil, he shall slay.


	3. The Finale

_Beneath the embers, beneath the wickedness, is a forgotten past_

 **We were created to destroy each other**

 _Crunch_

The dried, burnt up leaves cracked and broke underneath the Lieutenant's black boots, indicating his arrival in the fearful scene. Everything, a shade of red, orange, and yellow. It awfully reminded him of the friend that he lost, and the girl he failed to protect.

 **And take away everything we cherish**

 **Just let me be ..**

Everything slowly dawned upon him; the bitter reality that he has to accept—no, that _both_ of them has to accept and embrace. There was nothing else, nothing more, nothing less. They were tools, weapons made to exterminate and to execute orders. They have nothing but a single purpose; to vanquish, to fight. Their future is empty, they themselves, are empty.

 **With my miserable past and empty future**

 **Don't touch me**

His steel eyes of blue pierced against contrasting red ones, albeit from afar, he knows that she's looking at his direction, nonetheless. If looks can kill, they'd both be dead as of now. Each of them has their own perspective of what is right and what is wrong, what the other thinks is nothing of use. Useless, and trash. All that mattered was their own goal, that and nothing else.

 **With your dirty hypocrisy.**

Ren closed his eyes, letting a blurred memory of him and a girl as children fade away and burn into ashes. Those were the happy times, back when everything was supposedly normal and not biased like it is now. Everything would've been fine if they managed to stick close together, but no, there were greedy adults who tore them apart. That was the past, and it was now gone.

Far away from his reach.

 **Those worthless dreams have become nothing but a memory**

 **Long ago. Bitterly, I laugh at my sad fate.**

He took in his surroundings, the houses burning to a crisp, and the flames climbing along the short, perfectly cut grass. He's pretty sure that there are no survivors, the city had been engulfed by the flames. Though it was one of his priorities as the Lieutenant to escort those who are injured –if there are any- , his allies can take care of it. Kaito's better in applying first aid, anyways. Besides, him going head on for the enemy is an upperhand to the team. He's the Lieutenant for a reason, his skills of offense proved to be great under all circumstances. He'd done it anyways, it's kind of a compulsory service.

Casting those aside, why must this happen?

Why must this criminal, this _murderer_ , kill innocents for the sake of her own pleasure?

It's sickening.

It's an endless cycle and a game of chase, she kills, runs. He follows, capturing and killing her own fellow allies in the process.

It's horrifying.

Who's the better person in this play? When he himself, kills, as well?

 **Courting despair,**

 **I'm tormented over and over again**

What he was supposed to feel for this girl; anger, was lightly slid to the side. A new feeling surfaced, showing to be pity. But why, why must he harbor this kind of feeling for someone who viewed humans as worthless puppets in the game of life?

 **As my ideals dwindle,**

 **A little at a time,**

 **Stuck in a web of unwanted emotions,**

Ren grips the katana in his gloved hands, after this battle, there would be no more crimes. This girl; Tsubaki, was the last powerful weapon the organization Crimson Camellia has in their hands, executing her will put a stop to all cruelty. After this, he wants to rest peacefully. Not in a death like manner, he wants to stop. He wants to live in peace. Ah, if only it is that easy to achieve..

 **Wishing to abandon,**

 **To forget everything,**

 **To destroy myself**

When this battle is finally concluded. Who will remain standing as the victor? The thought of it dulled himself even more. His hands will be forever stained with red, and never can he remove it.

… **What else can I do but to laugh at it all?**

Tsubaki stares at the lone figure from afar, her eye travelling around him. He was alone, his buddies are nowhere to be found. He probably went running the moment someone alerted him of a burning city near from the capital, either he went first for the survivors, or in order to catch her. Which, he succeeded for the latter part.

 **No matter how many things I destroy,**

 **My heart remains empty**

Casting the entire city to flames should probably be her signature move after placing bullets into civilians' heads. That way, no one would survive. The city reeked of gasoline, she wasn't surprised when she found a dozen containers stacked dumbly at a corner of an isolated shed.

Such actions once gave her so much joy, insanely satisfying pleasure. So why can't she feel those now? It angered her, driving her to more killings and slaying of innocent lives. She was desperate on feeling joy, and that sentiment that she once found, is now gone. It's annoying, maddening.

 **If I must borrow the name of some discolored justice,**

 **And let the ash stain me,**

Ever since she lost her joy, her mind took a fragmented piece of what she deemed to be sanity. It was a small piece in her mind, but it served good at times whenever she encounters someone.. fascinating. She isn't dumb, never had she been dumb. The empty feeling in her heart depicts something that she probably lost in the past. The truth is presumably buried underneath a pile of ashes that came from the burnt corpses.

 **Then you might as well hide it from me,**

 **Along with the tainted truths**

 **If it is our fate to exist**

 **Only to destroy each other,**

 **And take away everything that we cherish,**

 **I wish the voice that warmed my heart**

 **And the hands I held in mine**

 **Had remained lost to me forever.**

Their eyes met once more, each bearing multiple emotions that swirled around them. But one was mutual between their orbs of blue and red; confusion.

Deep within them, they knew that in spite of their purpose, there is something more to it. There was a reason behind this, why everything began.

Why they were fighting.

As if communicating through telepathy, both of them took one step forward. This clearly didn't close the gap between them, for they are far away from each other. One step after the other, they seemed inferior to each other. Each step feels as if it's leading them to their empty future. Despite this, however, the more they step closer, the more something in them _snaps._

 **Those worthless dreams have been nothing but a memory.**

 **Long ago. In solitude, I deplore my sad fate.**

 **Traversing the path of despair**

The crunching of the leaves under them told of their slow, cautious walking. As if stalking upon one another under broad daylight. When it's however, the night. Their gazes never leaving each other as both gripped their own chosen weapons tightly in their hands.

 **I lose my bearings as my ideals dwindle,**

 **A little at a time.**

One or two questions are stuck in their mind as their eye contact never wavered. The padding of their feet on the ground stopped abruptly as they stand motionlessly.

' _Who are you to me?'_

There seemed to be something more into them than meets the eye. It was just.. there. Waiting to be found out, it was dreadful.

 **Desperately holding onto this**

 **Pathetic, miserable, shameful feelings.**

' _Who am I to you.. ?'_

 **.. What else can I do but to cry in anguish?**

Their minds yearn to vanquish what is evil in their eye, but their hearts screamed for something else. Insisting that there is another way, something that doesn't need to result to violence and doesn't end in a tragedy.

Everything cleared out of Tsubaki's mind as a smirk grew on her lips, she has no time for those stupid things. She's here to kill and leave no one alive, but here he came with weapon in hand.

 **I've lost my reason to fight long ago**

 **Yet, why is that**

 **I can't stop?**

With a suppressed laugh, she runs forward. Letting her white cloak drift off behind her in a menacing manner. Ren did the same, a growl leaving his chapped lips as he ran straight towards the criminal. Angling the blade of the weapon, the gap between them was coming to a close dangerously fast.

 **Borrowing the name of some burned down justice,**

 **And clinging to the ash that remains** **—**

 **That's the only way left for me to exist.**

Metal grinded against metal, kicks and punches were thrown. "Argh!" Tsubaki groans momentarily as she collides sharply with the earth. Her clutch on the gun loosening, the said weapon flying out of her reach. She looked up with a livid gaze, he got stronger. Perhaps the rush of adrenaline? He _was_ able to take her down within a second, and she's yet to shoot him!

 **Bound to you by our imprisonment in this twisted maze,**

She watches as Ren towered over form, she begins to sit up, when a foot hastily kicked her chest, forcing her to stay down. She winces at the contact, but manages to let a chortle escape her as the blonde Lieutenant straddles her hips. She can basically see the flames reflecting against the angled blade, it was intimidating—but there is nothing that she fears. Not even the glare sent to her that's filled with lividness.

"Fufu~ What's wrong?" she grins at him, never failing to be the insane person she is. "Can't kill a girl? My, you're pretty pathetic aren't you?" she smirks. When the man didn't move, she laughed out loud.

"You softened up after petty Lily's death, didn't 'ya!"

 **I let my raging emotions take over**

 **As I swing my sword**

Ren released a large shout of both anger and anguish as he swung his sword downwards..

And pierced it against the blonde's stomach.

Blood prickled against the side of the blade and his black clothes, staining their clothing crimson. Yes, ah, she can feel the pain. But it was nothing to her.

Tsubaki threw her head back and laughed loudly, giving off the impression that she didn't care about death. Nor does she care about anything at all, is his assumption.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Ren cries out in annoyance as he dug the sword deeper, not caring whether he has his hands dyed by red. All that mattered was ending her life once and for all. For every lives that she killed, for the innocents, and for Lily. He sees her wince, granting him affirmation that he was giving her the pain she deserved.

"You're so pitiful." She speaks up with a giggle, he can see droplets of blood dripping down the corners of her lips. The Lieutenant stares at her in light bafflement, how can she say such things when she's the one pierced by the blade?

"You lost so many, haven't you.. ?" she laughed afterwards. He takes notice that her crimson eye began to get duller by the second. Ren falls silent upon her words; he lost many, yes. That girl from his memories, he solely believed to be Lily. Losing her was terrible, and this criminal caused everything to fall down.

"They're never _ever_ coming back to the likes of _you_." She states in nonchalance.

 _Snap_

Something inside him suddenly grew, he felt a flurry of emotions resurface, bubbling with anger. "You're right," He whispers at her ear, "It was my fault." He finishes, disregarding the giggle that left her lips as he pulls back with a glare. He pulls out the sword from her stomach, lowly chuckling as he heard her pained gasp. Ren raises the blood stained weapon skyward, his eye staring down at her.

This is it.

".. And it was a fault of mine, too." Came her strangely soft reply.

She sounded..

 _Regretful._

No.

Ren shakes his head rapidly. She's just fooling him. He can't fool into her tricks again, he'd be deemed weak like damn. Why should he ever listen to a criminal? But yet.. yet again.. !

Her visage showed nothing but pain, blood continued to trickle down her lips and to the ground. It was a miracle that she's still alive by now. Was this even the murderer he faced long prior to this event?

Ren shouts in madness, confusion, and pain as he brings his sword down. Short puffs of breath escaped him as he bent forward, his hands still gripping the hilt of his katana that pierced against the camellia tucked at the girl's hair.

' _Why am I hesitating.. ?'_

When Tsubaki took notice of his actions, yet another laugh tore apart from her. Yes, he was correct. She was doing nothing but fooling him, he's easily manipulated just like that.

However.

Her laughter immediately ceased as she remembered that the flower in her hair was pierced. Her eye widened in horror, which only surprised the man above her. This was the first time he saw her in fear.

But why.. !?

Tsubaki's hand reached out to her right, as if trying to catch an item that flew out of the flower in her hair. Curious as to how she was able to react, he followed her line of sight.

Only for his heart to stop.

What was being thrown into the banquet of fire, is an all familiar item; a flower ring.

 **My mind is assaulted in turmoil**

 **As my dreams dwindle,**

 **One at a time.**

 _No.._

 _It can't be._

The very moment he took sight of the accessory, everything returned to him in a flash. Memories coloured black and white forcefully entered his mind, replaying all over again. The girl he's with it ever since his childhood.. was not Lily.

It was this criminal.

More memories played by, capturing him in a dumb gaze. They were so close back then, when they were torn apart, away from each other by force. With the memories still playing in his mind, he can hear Tsubaki's cries of anguish as she thrashed around beneath him. She struggled to free herself so that she'd able to catch the promise ring, it was the only remnant of the boy in her memories.

She'd dive in the flames just to get it.

" _No!"_

Her cry echoed.

Ren stared down at the girl, seeing her eye fill up with tears as she cried out in pain, in desperation.

He can barely get a grip of reality, this girl, this criminal.. !

Was the one he was looking for all this time.

"Rin.." her real name leaves his lips in a shocked tone.

His childhood friend, was the murderer of the innocent.

 **I want to destroy you**

He has the absolute right to kill her for slaying all of the unsuspecting villagers and citizens, she deserved to burn for her sins. She was supposed to repent.

"Ren!" she cries out his name, tears desperately flowing out of her eye as the promise ring got thrown to the heat of the flames. Disappearing from their sight.

 **I want to save you**

His heart clenched tightly at the sight of the girl crying beneath him, despite the blood that continue to flow around them due to the open wound in her stomach caused none other than him, she continued to struggle. The rush of adrenaline, at it's limit.

"Get off!" she exclaims, her hands weakly trying to push him off of her. "Ren!" she sobs out to the flames. It only took him a moment to realize that she too, doesn't remember who he is. Only his name, and that he gave the ring to her. She never remembered how he looked like.

As much as he wanted to get off and let her take the ring—which means diving into the fire, he can't. She deserved to die by the blade, like how she slayed all of the innocents. She doesn't deserve to live.

 **I can't forgive you**

But then again. She was the missing piece to his heart, and frankly enough, it's true. He had been empty, and now, knowing that he finally found her; to kill her means to revert back to being hollow.

 **What is my real feeling?**

 **.. I can't tell anymore**

" _Please.."_ Rin's voice croaks out hoarsely as more blood pooled around them. Her fists weakly fell to cover her stomach, all ounce of insanity, taken away from her mind. Ren stared at the girl whilst panting heavily, he was torn. What should he do?

 **Who is it that I want to protect?**

To do the action for the better good of everyone?

 **Who is it that I want to destroy?**

Or to save the person he have longed been trying to find?

Ren's grip on the katana shook visibly as he lowered his head, his form trembling as tears stung his left eye. His heart shattered, his head ached, and his mind was torn with decisions. The reality of it all sent him over to the edge, his form racking with silent sobs.

 **The answer I seized with my shaking hands**

 **Is becoming steeped in red**

Briefly, the criminal, the friend he had lost, looked up at him with mournful eyes. All lividness, all enmity, gone. There was nothing but tears mixed with blood streaming down against her soft, flushed cheeks. Ren stared back with his heart racing, this was the end. The finale of everything.

 **It was going to destroy us both**

The fugitive's hand fell to the ground beside her, her palm stained and dyed with red. No longer can it be removed.

Ren placed his gaze skyward as he shouted in pain and denial, his heart breaking itself into pieces as a familiar feeling nestled against his right eye that was currently covered by an eye patch.

It stung, and it burned.

 **And all the stain we bear in it's wake**

A warm sensation came pouring past the covering of the eye patch, he doesn't need to guess; it was blood. Little tears came out of it as well as he shouted in extreme agony. The pain of everything, the reveal of the truth—was too much for him. For them both.

 **Please..**

Ren bent over, his tears falling against the cheeks of the girl he had finally found, one of his hands lingering to cup the side of her face as he sobbed. His shoulders slumping as the katana fell to the ground, remaining bloodstained like before. His cry can be heard around despite the satisfying sound of the flames burning the city to ashes.

 **Just make it end.**

 **Our empty future remains in the ashes**

 **卍**


End file.
